Santa Cruz parents, children march to City Hall in call for action against crime

SANTA CRUZ -- A month to the day after two Santa Cruz police officers were killed in the line of duty, about 200 residents marched to City Hall on Tuesday calling for action against violence, discarded drug needles and other crime.

Organized by Take Back Santa Cruz, many marchers walked with children from Harvey West Park to the City Hall courtyard, where they were met by members of the City Council and participated in a brief rally. A small counterprotest drew some shouting, but no other incidents were reported.

"We pay a lot to live here, and yet I feel like an outsider most days," said Fire Department employee Kelly Kumec, whose family owns Pacific Avenue's Mission Hill Creamery. "I want to walk down my street and not be harassed. I want to enjoy our beautiful resources and not be fearful."

Demands for the council to focus on public safety started even before detective Sgt. Loran "Butch" Baker and detective Elizabeth Butler were shot by a sexual-assault suspect Feb. 26. A downtown murder in early February, a robbery and shooting of a UC Santa Cruz student days later, and an increase in the amount of hypodermic needles around beaches and parks all had elevated concern.

"We are really just here to listen," Mayor Hilary Bryant told marchers. "We want to work with you. We cannot let our darkest days define us."

While the anguish over public safety has centered around drug use and mental illness, it also has revived long-standing disagreements about the impact of services for the homeless and a needle exchange program moved recently from the Lower Ocean area to outside a county health clinic.

Nearly 1,450 social service providers and others from a new alliance called Together for a Safe Santa Cruz County have signed a petition warning against "quick-fix solutions" motivated by fear. Take Back members rubbed elbows with petition supporters Tuesday, sometimes engaging in animated discourse.

Phil Kramer, project director of the 180/180 program that seeks permanent housing for the most vulnerable homeless people, said Tuesday's gathering showed the potential for progress rather than just squabbling.

"That there is a conversation happening at all is a positive thing," Kramer said.

Valerie Abbott, who walked from Harvey West Park with her children, ages 4 and 6, wore a black bumper sticker across her shirt that read "Keep Santa Cruz Safe and Clean." The message is a take on the "Keep Santa Cruz Weird" slogan started a generation ago and now seen by some as a sign of a too-permissive culture.

"I live across from Grant Park," she said. "I'm not scared, but there is always room for improvement."

Councilman Micah Posner and other parents have planned a children's play date for noon Friday at the park, which is near Ocean Street and the intersection of highways 17 and 1 -- areas with high transient traffic. He said future play dates will rotate to other parks.

Lower Ocean resident Paul Garcia showed council members a map of sites where he said more than 700 discarded needles have been found, including at the end of a neighbor's driveway. The city is working with the county to improve regulations for the needle exchange, which stopped operating in Lower Ocean after 25 years because the city deemed it a code violation.

"I'm not against needle exchange, but thanks for getting it out of our residential area," Garcia said.

Also Tuesday, the council approved a list of guidelines for upcoming labor talks, including requests that council members not negotiate directly with bargaining units. The council also OK'd the third volume of the city's Historic Building Survey, which added 105 structures and 34 other sites to a list that hasn't been updated since the Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989.